Applied Research最新文献

Additive manufacturing (AM), known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, uses computer-controlled materials deposition to fabricate 3D objects by selectively depositing materials, usually in a layer-wised fashion, to build a 3D object using free-form fabrication. Integrating silicone elastomers with AM deposition strategies has been of interest due to the important application characteristics of silicones such as excellent mechanical properties, thermal resistance, and chemical inertness. This work presents a study on the shear-thinning properties of thermally-curable liquid silicone feedstocks to describe ideal flow and shape-retention properties for direct ink writing of liquid silicone rubbers. To complement the direct ink writing process developed in this work for silicone AM, flow properties of various silicone feedstocks were identified through measurement of rheological properties using the AM fluid dispenser under various pressures, supported by parallel plate oscillatory shear rheology. A systematic process for evaluating and investigating the AM performance of seven different grades of silicones is introduced. The shape retention, overhang, and dimensional accuracy of these silicones in 3D printing process have been compared and summarized. This systematic evaluation methodology can be applied for silicone material selection and printing of silicone parts with complicated architectures.

The FragMAX facility at MAX IV Laboratory is a state-of-the-art platform for crystallographic fragment screening, designed to support structure-based drug and chemical tool compound discovery. This facility offers a comprehensive workflow, from high-throughput crystal preparation and automated diffraction data collection at the BioMAX beamline to advanced data processing and analysis using custom software tools like FragMAXapp and FragMAXproc. Key components include an extensive relational SQLite database, various fragment libraries, laboratory automation equipment, and a range of bespoke software solutions. FragMAX has conducted numerous successful screening campaigns, serving both academic and industrial users. Users benefit from comprehensive support, and stringent data management. Here, we provide an overview of the different components of the facility and details of their practical implementation.

Epithelial barrier function and cellular respiration are key cellular phenotypes in health and disease and as such involved in the progression of many pathological disorders. Accordingly, the molecular drivers are targeted extensively in drug development using appropriate disease models in vitro. So far, quantification of barrier function and metabolic respiration had to be conducted in individual phenotypic assays, making it impossible to track changes simultaneously in a single cell layer over longer periods. We have developed an assay platform that allows for simultaneous monitoring of both, the epithelial barrier function and metabolic activity of cell layers cultured on permeable substrates label-free and non-invasively. Therefore, we designed a stainless-steel measurement chamber capable of combining impedance spectroscopy and ratiometric fluorescence-based oxygen mapping. In this platform, the barrier function is quantified as the transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) while the respiratory activity is expressed as the apparent oxygen consumption rate (AOCR) yielding the name TER-Ox for the combined setup. We validated the TER-Ox system by studying the epithelial cell lines MDCK-I, MDCK-II, and A549, covering a wide range of barrier tightness. Results of the combined TER-Ox setup were compared to established but individual readouts of barrier function (cellZscope®) and oxygen consumption (VisiSens TD®). Also, we show that differences in both parameters are readily monitored while treating cell layers with modulators affecting the electron transport chain (Antimycin A and malonoben) or barrier integrity (Cytochalasin D).

This paper introduces a novel method for monitoring steel structures for fatigue cracks. The method combines measurements from strain gauges (SG) with pre-conducted structural simulations to quantitatively and precisely determine the position and length of cracks in critical areas. Experimental results validate the reliability and effectiveness of this approach, demonstrating its ability to enable early crack detection. A key advantage of this method is its simplicity: it requires only three strain gauge bridges (one reference SG and two for crack detection). This makes the approach both cost-efficient and flexible. It is particularly suited for localized monitoring tasks and offers significant benefits over other, often more complex, methods.

Capacitors play a crucial role in modern electronics as they are widely employed for energy storage, signal processing, radiofrequency tuning and matching, and signal filtering. This paper presents a novel approach to chip-scale capacitor fabrication utilizing the laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique, a versatile 3D printing method that offers a flexible and cost-effective alternative to conventional manufacturing processes. Plate capacitors were fabricated through dot-by-dot printing of titanium di-oxide and silver paste layers, and their performance evaluated. Optimal dot circularity at a diameter of 130 $��\mu �$m were achieved with printing parameters of 120 mW for 4 ms, with no noticeable surface defects. Using smaller dots enabled higher resolution, but this compromised the quality of the printed surface. The fabricated capacitors demonstrated a mean capacity of 40.1 $��\pm �$ 2.2 pF at 100 MHz, making them suitable also for high-frequency applications. The resistivity of the printed silver tracks was $��1.2��\; �\times ��\; �1�\; �0^{�-�\; �7�}��\; �\Omega �\; �m�$, measured over 16 structures, and closely matched the manufacturer's specifications for the silver ink. The achieved resolution from the dot-by-dot method used in this paper provided greater flexibility in transfer in comparison to previously reported results using a square-shaped transfer geometry.

Epoxy samples obtained by curing bisphenol A diglycidyl ether with triethylenetetramine are thermally oxidized at 160°C under air. The impact on water sorption is investigated by water uptake recorded by Dynamic Vapor Sorption and the gravimetric method. Experimental data mainly showed that water solubility in epoxies increases due to oxidative degradation, meanwhile, the formation of clustering remains limited. In the investigated ageing conditions, water diffusion obeys Fick's law. Despite a significant chain scission process, water diffusivity in polymer remains constant, possibly in line with the fact that hydroxypropylethers are the driving force of water diffusion and are not degraded during thermal ageing.